unproductve coughs

I've been having unproductive coughs for about a week now and no improvements. I 've exhuasted over the counter meds and one prescript now on 2 more scripts. the dr sent me to xray today and couldn't find nothing. only noting that he could see that i was a previous hard smoker because of the way my lungs looked on the xray. but i've never smoked and always hated the 2nd hand smoke so why would i ever want to inhale that crap. I don't understand why i'm coughing having no other symptoms and never smoked in my life!!! What's the deal? anyone have any insight? Please please please? thanks
eric

IMHO if your Xrays were not normal and you have symptoms (cough)they need to be doing further testing. If this isn't offered I would request/demand it unless there is already another good explanation for the films. If your regular Dr cannot do this then he should give you a referral to a pulmonologist.

BTW I had a dry cough for 5 months but my x-ray and CT were clear and I was oxygenating fine on room air.

it was gunky feeling slightly but not for long. most the time it's dry with hacking coughs they call it. sometimes i cough so hard it makes a wheezing sound. i researched asthma and wonder if that's what it is. I don't trust my dr on anything and i feel he don't spend enough time researching his patients to find things. it's always prescribe a med and see what happens. the easy way out. is all dr's that way these days?

i found this: http://www.webmd.com/content/article/105/107728.htm
not all asthma symptoms are obvious it's asthma.

I'm still coughing a bunch.
Today it's only 14degrees out. cold made me cough a little and helping a friend clean out a really dirty litter box caused me to cough bad for about 10-20 and off and on after. plus at the same time i also spray carpet fresh on the carpet and that made me cough too. but would those elements irritate my throat if it was just a cold? or would that be signs of asthma or something else?

My Huz had chest x-rays done years ago & they came back saying he had emphezima(sp). A year later they did x-rays again & his lungs were clear. Come to find out it was not emphezima, but was the oil the factory sprayed in the air to keep the machines from rusting & well running. He had changed jobs not long after the first set of x-rays & his lungs had cleared in that year.

There are many things, besides smoke that cause lung problems/damage. Household cleaners are a biggie. My neighbor is on oxygen full time now. She cleaned houses for years, using strong cleaners like Pine-Sol, Clorox, Turpentine, ammonia, etc. She now has COP. She NEVER smoked. The fumes form the cleaners scarred her lungs. Many thing can cause major bronchial/lung irritation & cause coughing, etc.

There's also virus's that can mimic pneumonia. I had it about 4 years ago. Coughed (violent) non-stop, non-productive, for 4 days & ended up in the ER. I drank cough syrup, took meds to loosen the mucus so it'd move, etc. Nothing worked. I was wheezing so bad the ER person couldn't even hear my heart! ER did a nebulizer/breathing treatment & put me on inhalers & a pill to shut coughing down. Pill didn't help for the coughing tho. Family doc put me on Hydrocodone, which did shut down the coughing & the only product that finally got the mucus moving was Musinex. I was also put on a anti-biotic.

This virus caused me breathing problems for months. A allergy specalist told me that some of these things can take a full year or longer to recover from. I have been tested for astham. I was borderline at the time, but it has gotten better since. I used astham meds for awhile, then weaned off them. I still have 2 things that trigger a asthma/coughing spell....fresh mowed grass & a major humidity change (too low or too high). Usually one use of the inhaler & I'm good for a few months or longer.

Avoid things that trigger the coughing, like the cold air, cat litter dust, etc. Wear a mask, cover your face, etc. I also found that just sitting & breathing in the vapors from a jar of Vicks Vapor Rub helps. I now only use inhalers if I have a major wheezing spell, which is usually only 2-3 times a year now. Mine seem to trigger when the season changes in spring & again in fall.

If you've been subject to allot of airborn things they could have caused this or you could have a virus, etc. The thing is you need to get to a lung specalist & get checked. Do NOT let this go or it can get worse to the point of lung damage. The quicker you get treatment the better.

no he didn't find anything. no mucous buildup in lungs either. it's like i don't know if its a cold when i only cough. hmmm......
i had something similar last winter. only hydrocodine or however you spell it and cipro works.

I'm confused as to why your doc would say he could see that you are a previous hard smoker when you've never smoked!!!! I'd get a second opinion...

I've had the same problem occassionally this winter. I get this dry feeling in my throat and can't stop coughing. I don't know why it happens. I can only attribute it to having mild asthma and it being super-cold. It is VERY annoying, especially at night when you're trying to sleep. Cough medicines don't help me, but my albuterol inhaler does. Have you tried asking your doc to evaluate you for asthma? Perhaps an inhaler would help you...

They didn't say what the virus was I had, but others were also getting it at the time too.

You do NOT have to be dx'd with Asthma in order to need the meds. In fact it's best NOT to be dx'd with Asthma, as many insurance companies will refuse you insurance on future things like loans, etc. I was told this by 2 docs & a banker.

Postnasal drip can also set off major coughing spells, as it irritates the back of the throat/bronchials, etc.

At one time I was on allergy meds....pills, nasal sprays, etc, daily. After several months I felt I should wean off them, so I did. I hate taking meds when I don't really need them, as the body can become dependant or the meds stop working. Very few docs will tell you just take them when yo u nedd them, because of the Government regualtions. So all Rx's have to say take so many per hour/day/etc.

Once I got that nasty virus the docs put me on asthma meds daily. After I got better I weaned off them too, as I didn't want my body depending on them. Now I only use them when I get a attack, which is usually started by grass/humidity that causes postnasal drip & then the wheezing. However I try the Vicks first. I sit & hold the jar under my nose & just breath the vapors in for 10-20 minutes. If it doesn't help then I go for the inhaler.

If it were me I'd get a second opnion on the x-rays/tests. Something doesn't sound right with the docs dx.

I noticed that the last few years i get choked up and coughing sometimes occasionally only at night after i get excited with friends and talk loud and laughing. It started happening after having a bad cold several years back. when monday comes i'm going to make a appointment with someone. something is amiss. I read that asthma can be mostly nighttime and morning problems for some people.